FLOYD –– Carroll County limited Floyd County to eight points or fewer in all four quarters and presented Tee Jackson a win in his first game as the Cavaliers’ head coach as Carroll stymied the Buffaloes 42-23 in a nondistrict game Tuesday night.

Carroll County led just 17-13 at halftime but pulled away in the second half by holding the Buffaloes to 10 points after intermission.

Garrett Haynes led all scorers with 13 points for the Cavaliers and Caden Hodges added 11.

HILLSVILLE –– Preceding Wednesday’s Carroll County-Floyd County girls’ basketball game, a public service announcement explained to fans the VHSL’s new 30-point rule. Based on the one that has been in place for years in football, a continuously-running clock will be implemented in the fourth quarter when a team is ahead by a 30-point margin in an effort to shorten games that are woefully out of hand.

You know it’s going to be a good day when you get to quote Yosemite Sam on the sports page.

The mascots of two of Region 1A West’s final four teams are colors, and if you ever thought coming up with a caricature of a Tide is difficult, try personifying Blue or Maroon. George Wythe created a scowly-faced toughie, fists clenched, in rolled up sleeves and a toboggan – a longshoreman, maybe? – to represent its Maroon. Well played, George Wythe.

THE PLAINS –– Runners from Galax, Grayson County and Carroll County were among the 1,240 athletes to converge on the Great Meadows state course near Manassas as the Virginia High School League contested its 12 cross country state championships Friday and Saturday.

Galax had advanced both its boys’ and girls’ teams out of Region 1A West and managed mid-pack finishes for both squads at the state meet, including some top-25 individual performances.

INDEPENDENCE –– A great number of kids who take up wrestling in the ninth grade couldn’t grapple their way out of a district tournament by the time they are juniors. Will Lawrence wrestled his way into a Division I scholarship.

HILLSVILLE –– Anyone unfamiliar with Concord University might think that the NCAA Division II school is in the middle of nowhere. If so, then it’s fitting that the Mountain Lions came out of nowhere to nab one of Carroll County’s all-time greats.

Although the latter part of Charles Darwin’s life paralleled the early stages of American football, history doesn’t record whether or not the old boy ever took in a ballgame. It doesn’t really matter, though. One of his theories is proven true through the 16 vs. 1 matchups.